Arabs celebrate Umm Kulthum pick on Rolling Stone’s 200 greatest singers
The Egyptian legend was ranked ahead of many all-time greats, including Michael Jackson.
Fans across the Arab world are celebrating this week Rolling Stone's pick of famed Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum on the list of the top 200 singers ever.
The American magazine released the list of singers on New Year’s day, continuing a tradition that they started in 2008. They identified their criteria as “originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.” Rolling Stone staff ranked the singers and only included artists who performed popular music.
Umm Kulthum was ranked 61 on the list. Rolling Stone described her as having “no real equivalent among singers in the West.”
“Her death in 1975 brought millions into the Cairo streets to mourn, and while her influence among Arab singers is incalculable, it extended far beyond it,” wrote the magazine.
